Smoky Mountain Speedway
Ogle on top of Ole Smoky for $3,000 victory
By Richard Allen
TennesseeRacer.com
SRRS director Rickey Tucker (right) congratulates Billy Ogle Jr. (mrmracing.net)
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 13) — Amid a season full of runner-up finishes, Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville, Tenn., clicked off his second victory in seven days Friday at Smoky Mountain Speedway.
Ogle led all 35 laps from outside the front row at the Southern Regional Racing Series-sanctioned Ole Smoky Moonshine Classic for a $3,000 payday, following up on last weekend’s Southern All Star victory at Tazewell (Tenn.) Speedway. His second straight victory follows a series of 10 second-place finishes on the season for Ogle, who won a dozen races in 2012. | Slideshow
“I needed a win to break all the seconds,” Ogle said of his newfound success. “I know second isn’t bad but it just feels like a missed opportunity.”
Skip Arp of Georgetown, Tenn., was second with seventh-starting Ray Cook of Brasstown, N.C., in third. Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, Ga., and Brett Miller of Greeneville, Tenn., rounded out the top five finishers.
Josh Putnam of Florence, Ala., picked up five positions in finishing sixth to break a tie in the SRRS points lead with hometown driver Jason Welshan, who was seventh. Two series races remain.
From the out of the feature, it obvious that Ogle was the driver to beat. He immediately seized the lead at the waving of the green flag ahead of polesitter Chris Wilson, Miller, Arp, Vic Hill and Brindle.
The race’s first caution flag waved on lap two when Sammie Russell made hard contact with the turn-one wall, and it was during the caution period Wilson headed for the pits with mechanical troubles, his night over prematurely. On the restart, another top contender experienced trouble when Hill slowed dramatically on the back stretch.
Once the race got into a rhythm, Ogle took full command, at times stretching his lead to almost the full length of the 4/10-mile oval’s long straightaways. Arp, however, was able to close the gap significantly by lap 15 when Ogle found himself mired in heavy traffic. But when Ogle worked through the traffic, he again build a comfortable margin.
Meanwhile, there was plenty of action behind the frontrunner. Cook was on the move forward and found himself racing side-by-side with Miller for third. When the two contenders ran up on a pair of lapped cars also side-by-side, Joe Denby was sent for a spin by the contact to bring out the race’s final caution on lap 23.
After the restart, Ogle resumed his domination, driving to a relatively comfortable victory.
Notes: Ogle’s Blount Motorsports Rocket Chassis is sponsored by Arnold Trucking, Bearden Oil Company, Blount Excavating, Cherokee Millwright, GEOServices, Insurance Partners, Massey Electric, Stowers (CAT) Machinery Corp. and Wine and Spirits Cellar. ... Vic Hill matched Billy Ogle Jr.’s fast time of 16.449 seconds in time trials, but Ogle won the honors because he posted his time first. ... Ogle went from fifth-to-second in the dash to earn a front row starting spot. ... Adam Beeler won Smoky Mountain's Crate Late Model feature by a half-track margin over David Crabtree. ... SRRS competitors return to action Oct. 5 at Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel, Tenn.; the season wraps up Nov. 2 back at Smoky Mountain.
Ole Smoky Moonshine Classic: (1) Billy Ogle Jr., (2) Skip Arp, (3) Ray Cook, (4) Chip Brindle, (5) Brett Miller, (6) Josh Putnam, (7) Jason Welshan, (8) Ryan King, (9) Tommy Kerr, (10) Stacy Boles, (11) Brad Skinner, (12) Bobby Giffin, (13) Dusty Carver, (14) Joe Denby, (15) Roger Best, (16) Mark Douglas, (17) Cory Hedgecock, (18) Pierce McCarter, (19) David Crabtree, (20) Chris Wilson, (21) Vic Hill, (22) Skylar Marlar, (23) Ellery Leake, (24) Sammie Russell. Fast qualifier (among 24 cars): Ogle, 16.449 seconds. Heat race winners: Cook, Kerr, Welshan. Dash winner: Wilson.
